Chick-fil-A in Chicago? For real?

Aurora, Orland Park groundbreakings planned for next month, company official says

March 11, 2010|By Kevin Pang, Tribune reporter

Chick-fil-A said many times that it would come to Chicago.

It started nearly three years ago, with a Tribune story about a West Chicago family who would drive hours just to taste the chain's chicken sandwiches. That story brought a company spokesman's assurance that Chick-fil-A would be here by 2008.

We waited.

Then Chick-fil-A said last May that it was coming.

We waited.

This time, it may actually be happening.

A Chick-fil-A spokeswoman says company officials will be in town the week of April 19 to break ground in Aurora and Orland Park.

The plan is to open both locations by late summer, with a third location planned for Wheaton.

The Atlanta-based chicken chain is a favorite in the South, where it is most commonly found. The nearest location to Chicago is in Racine, Wis., according to chickfila.com, and there are several downstate Illinois locations, including in Bloomington and Urbana.

So we asked spokeswoman Cindi Pickett point-blank: What are the chances that a Chick-fil-A will be in the Chicago area by the end of the year?